In mid-May 1952, Alex handed Carl the third draft of the Harry Potter series.

In fact, he has already finished writing this novel, but he has been holding on to it. When I have free time, I will flip through it, find out the bugs in it, and fix it. Or lay the groundwork and prepare for the future plot.

Over time, Alex's book slowly became accepted by Americans. There are all kinds of novel settings and unexpected plot arrangements, as well as very cool fight scenes, everything is much better than Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings".

In terms of literary literacy, he may not be as good as Tolkien, but in terms of popularity, Tolkien is far inferior to Alex. What's more, Alex's target audience is very clear, that is, children, and there is no need to write so literately.

After Carl had collected the manuscript, he said, "Alex, the publisher would like to arrange a book signing event for you. What do you think? ”

Alex's eyes widened as he looked at Carl. He really didn't expect such an event, and he didn't want to sit at a table and giggle and sign messages for the readers present.

"Nope! I don't want to do any signings! Alex bluntly refused.

Carl couldn't help but sigh, he had known that this was the result. In fact, Bantan had such an idea after the first part of the Harry Potter series. Before Carl could ask Alex, he was stopped by the Carpenters.

At that time, Alex was too young to participate in any signing event. Especially at that time, Alex and Richard's distress at the McCann's Town Tavern in Atlanta had not subsided, and the Carpenter didn't want their sons to take the slightest risk.

Now, the Carpenter have loosened up their management of Alex a bit, and the Bantan Books have managed to get permission from them. Unexpectedly, when I got to Alex, I was directly rejected.

Karl knew that Alex was small, but he was extremely assertive, and if he decided on something, no one could change his mind. Unless it's for him to change his mind, that's a very difficult thing to do.

Carl tried to lead and said: "Engaging in a signing event is good for the sales of this third part, and it can be regarded as a reward for the enthusiasm of book fans." You know, the number of books sold in this series has reached more than 5 million. ”

The Harry Potter series, under the influence of the Carpenter brothers' fame, sells more than a million copies of each book every year. For two years in a row, the first two books alone have sold more than five million copies. In Carl's opinion, this is quite an achievement. But in Alex's view, it's not worth mentioning.

You must know that this book was eroded and shrunk by various entertainment methods in the book market in later generations, and it was able to sell hundreds of millions of copies a year, which shows how good Aunt Rowling is. Although the current Harry Potter series is very different from the original, in Alex's opinion, he has changed it even better than the original! There's no reason to lose to Aunt Rowling.

Alex wondered if it was because he didn't engage in this activity or that activity that he couldn't sell the book, and it wouldn't work if it went on like this.

"Alright! Let's schedule a book signing. The location is in New York, I don't want to run somewhere else, it's too much trouble to fly around. Alex eventually agreed to Carl's request.

More than a year ago, Alex and Richard were used to being chased for autographs. They asked someone to help design a set of signatures, and Alex chose the easiest and most convenient sample from them. With just one stroke, I was able to write his name with ease.

The marketing department of Bantan Books was very efficient, and they quickly put up an advertisement, and soon many people saw the slogan.

"Alex the Magic Kid is about to do a book signing for his third novel!"

The impact of this advertisement was so great that on the day of the book signing, Alex arrived in Times Square in New York, only to find that it was already surrounded by book lovers. He really didn't expect that so many book fans would be there, and he thought that it would be great if there were hundreds of people at most, but looking at the scene, tens of thousands of people came.

"Alex! Alex! We want Alex! The fans shouted rhythmically.

When Alex appeared in front of everyone, the fans cheered. They rushed forward one after another, causing the police officers to maintain order to be overwhelmed and almost lose control.

The person in charge of this signing event was also pale, and he didn't expect that there would be so many people. When he saw the crowd at the scene, he knew that it was going to be bad, and hurriedly asked the New York Police Department for more manpower. It's just that what I didn't expect was that the people from the police station were all sent over, but it was still far from enough.

"Alex, sing a song!"

"Let's sing a song!"

Someone in the crowd shouted, it was clearly a Carpenter Brothers fan. Alex and Richard rarely appear in such public appearances, and since their first record, they have slowly stopped performing live singing. Changing to other artists, doing so is tantamount to killing yourself. However, the Carpenter brothers are different, although their records are not at the top, but they are stable in performance, good quality, and high level.

Especially after appearing on the New York TV show, the popularity of the two of them has increased a lot, plus a "Little Fugitive" that won the Venice Film Festival Award, which made the popularity of the brothers even more prosperous. In contrast, the Carpenter brothers basically do not participate in tours, nor do they schedule concerts or other events. Make their fans wait so hard.

In this signing event arranged by Bantan Books, only Alex appeared, which was also a very rare thing. Fans of the Carpenter brothers. Book lovers, movie fans, etc., have all heard the wind and come to New York's Times Square to wait through various means.

"What to do? What to do! Carl, as the editor in charge, was also in attendance. He never expected that so many people would be there. If you are not careful, this will cause a big commotion. There were a lot of children at the scene, and if there was a stampede, it would be a tragic event.

Alex had never seen anything like this, but he was still calm and said, "Let's sing a song." Since they asked for it, they had to fulfill it. ”

The staff present immediately brought in all kinds of equipment and set up a temporary platform. As for the accompanying band, it was easier, and a phone call called the folks from Carpenter Records.

Soon, everything was ready. Alex walked to the center of the stage under the gaze of everyone.

"Hello everyone!" Alex greeted the people with a smile, and he looked at the people present, including children, adults, and old people. Men and women, whites and blacks, all kinds of people.

When everyone saw Alex appear, they all cheered. Suddenly, the entire sky above the square was filled with this sound.

Alex waited for the cheers to subside slightly, and then said, "I didn't plan to sing today. After all, I didn't apply to the NYPD for an open-air concert, and if I broke the rules, I might be arrested and put in jail. When the time comes, it will be much easier for you to see me, just go straight to the prison. ”

Everyone was made to laugh by Alex's words, and the originally tense atmosphere was relaxed. They then took a break to see what Alex would do next.

"However, I don't think singing a song or two is a concert. Besides, if you want to hold a concert, you have to charge tickets. I didn't take your tickets, but remember, when the judge asks, he'll have to say something. ”

After hearing Alex's words, there was another big laugh.

After the laughter passed, Alex gestured to the band and said, "AnAngel! ”

With melodious accompaniment, Alex sang the song. This song is in the third record of the Carpenter brothers, which once reached number one on the Billboard weekly chart. Many Carpenter Brothers fans loved the song, and as soon as they heard the intro to the song, they knew it was the song, and they all went silent.

The Carpenter brothers' style of songs is divided into two phases, the first of which is the most influential of Alex. During this period, the songs written by Alex were basically songs from the later Dickland, all of which highlighted the "cute" elements of their two brothers. Both he and Richard have very special voices and a strong sense of personal identity. Declan's song is also perfect for the two of them to sing.

However, it is not enough to rely on "moe" to please people. This was the time when the United States was experiencing the most rapid change, and people were beginning to reinvent their homes just after World War II, and skyscrapers in big cities were springing up like mushrooms after a rain. It can be said that the United States in the 50s of the 20th century, like China in the 21st century, was on the road of rapid urbanization.

The fast-paced life has created a demand for fast-paced music. It was also during this period that rock 'n' roll appeared. Of course, Alex writes songs with elements of rock 'n' roll, but most of them appear in a soft and gentle way. There is also a lot of interest in this type of music.

By the second phase of the Carpenter brothers, where Richard began to develop, Richard was influenced by more rock music, and the music he created was very different from his later music. He tried to incorporate the rock styles of Elvis, Bill and others, and he took a path of country rock music without a teacher.

This road is a very spacious road, in fact, Alex took this road at the beginning, but he didn't go that far. Richard went a little further than Alex, and he was bolder and wilder, which is reflected in the song. People just love this style of music, and they were pleasantly surprised by the change in style of the Carpenter brothers' songs.

However, it is Alex who is singing now, and he does not sing the songs written by Richard. This "AnAngel" song has very high requirements for the singer, and you can't sing that flavor without a good voice.

"I wish to have your wings, fulfilled in my dream last night. I chased the butterflies, and the light of dawn illuminated my eyes. The sky tonight caught my eyes because they saw a field of angels"

In Alex's singing, everyone gradually quieted down and listened attentively. In fact, when it comes to singing live, most singers don't have the means to perform at the level they would be in the studio. After all, the atmosphere in the studio is not the same, and it can be sung repeatedly. Listening to the same singer's record and live will have two effects, and many singers with poor skills will miss the bottom because of this.

Alex would have done the same, however, he used his superpower "Imitation Memory". With this ability, every lyric he sings is as perfect as the record plays. Because of this, many people found that Alex's level of singing in the live was very high, at least no one would say that his singing skills were poor.

After singing two songs in a row, Alex refused to continue singing on the grounds that it was not a concert. He jumped off the stage and sat down at the autograph table. Most of the people who came to the scene in person bought a Harry Potter book. There are even people who buy a whole set, which they haven't seen before, and some people buy it specially to collect.

The book launch was a huge success, with hundreds of thousands of copies of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban sold across the country on that day alone.

As for the signing session in New York's Times Square, Alex signed a person in an average of a few seconds and signed for three hours without stopping, until he could no longer raise his right hand. Even so, there are still many people who have not gotten his autograph. The men left disappointed, but they were given an official certificate from the event. They can use this proof to pick up a new book poster and go back.

"I won't agree to this kind of signing activity anymore, I'm really tired to death!" Alex was bitter and secretly made up his mind.